FEHBP CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS REVEALED

Washington, D.C. - Over 80 percent of enrollees in both fee-for-service plans and health maintenance organizations who responded to a survey on the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) expressed satisfaction with their health plan. These and other findings are a result of a survey designed to gauge satisfaction among FEHBP customers.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Jim King announced the results of the survey, the first ever conducted to gain program-wide information on how satisfied federal employees and retirees are with their health coverage under FEHBP.

"This survey is an important piece of OPM's commitment to customer service, and it represents the first large-scale availability of plan-by-plan consumer opinion information on FEHBP," said Jim King. "The survey results will help consumers make informed decisions about their health plan choices, and provide participating plans with information important to their ongoing quality improvement efforts."

Over 90,000 FEHBP enrollees responded to the customer satisfaction survey. Two hundred sixty-one plans and options chose to participate in the voluntary survey. Plans with very few FEHB members and new plans were not asked to participate.

Other key findings highlighted by the study are:

FEE FOR SERVICE PLANS

• LEVEL OF OVERALL SATISFACTION:

In total, 82 percent of the survey respondents in fee-for-service plans expressed satisfaction with their plan. Of that number, 19 percent of the respondents in fee-for-service plans said they were extremely satisfied with their health plan. Another 41 percent of fee-for-service enrollees said they were very satisfied with their plan and 22 percent were somewhat satisfied with their plan.

• OVERALL RATING FOR ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE:

Ninety-one percent of survey respondents in fee-for-service plans rated access to medical care good, very good or excellent.

• QUALITY OF CARE FROM DOCTORS AND OTHER MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS:

Ninety percent of the survey respondents in fee-for-service plans rated this item as good, very good or excellent.

• COVERAGE:

Seventy-eight percent of respondent in fee-for-service plans rated the range of services covered by their plan and how fully they are covered as good, very good or excellent.

• INFORMATION, CUSTOMER SERVICE, CLAIMS SERVICE, AND SIMPLICITY OF PAPERWORK:

Eighty-two percent of respondents in fee-for-service plans rated customer service, claims service, simplicity of paperwork and information provided by their plan as good, very good or excellent.

HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS:

• LEVEL OF OVERALL SATISFACTION:

Altogether, 86 percent of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) survey respondents expressed some satisfaction with their health plan. Nineteen percent of respondents in HMOs or prepaid plans said they were extremely satisfied, with another 45 percent saying they were very satisfied. Twenty-two percent said they were somewhat satisfied with their plan.

• OVERALL RATING FOR ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE:

Eighty-nine percent rated access to medical care as good, very good or excellent.

• QUALITY OF CARE FROM DOCTORS AND OTHER MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS:

Eighty-eight percent rated this item as good, very good or excellent.

• COVERAGE:

Eighty-six percent of HMO respondents rated the range of services covered by their plan and how fully they are covered as good, very good or excellent.

• INFORMATION, CUSTOMER SERVICE, CLAIMS SERVICE, AND SIMPLICITY OF PAPERWORK:

Eighty-seven percent of HMO respondents rated customer service, claims service, simplicity of paperwork, and information provided by their plan, as good, very good or excellent.

It is not possible to make direct comparisons between individual HMOs (prepaid plans) and FFS (fee-for-service plans). The HMO's are regional while the FFS plans are national. So ratings of "access to medical care," for example, for HMOs tell you what enrollees thought about access to a plan's participating doctors in a specific region. For FFS plans, the ratings tell what enrollees thought about access to doctors in various regions throughout the nation, wherever the enrollees happen to live. Also the wording, of some questions was slightly different for the two types of plans.

The survey results will be published by OPM in booklet form and will be made available to employees during Open Season which begins on November 14.

The survey was conducted by the Center for the Study of Services, a Washington-based, non-profit consumer research organization. OPM soon will solicit proposals for a similar survey to assess consumer satisfaction during 1994.

Members of the media who are interested in receiving the eight-page survey results can receive copies by calling (202) 606-1800.

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Web page created 2 December 1997